My Father in Law’s girlfriend (Chantal) had mentioned to us a few weeks ago that they had found some kittens on their property. The mama cat had given birth in the old outhouse that they were about to tear down… luckily it hadn’t been used in a few years and the wood chips made a nice bed… I said that I might be willing to take one since we had been talking about getting another cat or maybe even a dog…
Yesterday morning we got a call from them saying that they were coming in the area to bring a kitten to another family member and asked if they should bring us one also.. we quickly though about it and called back and accepted. The one we would have liked was already going to another family member so they brought us another little one… the kittens are 7 weeks old and were just being weaned, the mom was walking away from them while they nursed and they were out exploring more… I would have like is she was completely weaned but since they are feral and were exploring more and getting harder to catch by the day FIL thought it would be better to get them while he still could.
She arrived yesterday at about noon and she was so scared but also very calm and cuddly.. the boys held her and she licked and nuzzled Khéna and didn’t try to leave at all while being held and passed around…
I decided a while back that we would be raw feeding our next animal… Chantal had told us that they had been trying to feed the kittens kibble and milk but that they were not taking to it very much… but I thought about it and reasoned that because they were feral they were most likely being fed prey that the mama cat was catching so there shouldn’t be much transition to raw… I was right… I didn’t buy kibble at all but instead got some chicken out of the freezer, thawed it and then fed it to her…
We started with small chunks but then I gave her larger peices along with bone and organs and she knew exactly what to do with it and loved it!
Yesterday I portioned food out for the week and froze it in baggies weighing about 3oz each… estimating that she will be about 9 pounds as an adult and needs 2-3% of her body weight in food…
(click to see one larger)
As for litter training… it is also going great… I showed her the litter box a few times and finally she went in it and has been using it with no problem…
I haven’t had a new kitten in 20 years… my last kitten died when I was pregnant with Khéna at 17 years old… Our other cat, Sparky came to us as an older adult cat…so this is such a pleasure for me… We named her Nala… a name that we all agreed on including the boys… she loves to cuddle and sleep on me and I am enjoying it also..
I have a feeling that she is going to have a special place in this family….
She’s adorable. She has the best whiskers! I can’t wait to read about her from time to time to hear how she’s doing. Blog about the raw feeding occasionally! It’s helpful when people are searching for info!
She’s so cute! I love her colorings. I really wanted to feed my cats raw, but when I tried it none of them would eat it…they just kept trying to drag it all over the house. I think it’s a great idea to start it from the very beginning, so much healthier than all the grains in the cat kibble.
Aww, this is a lovely post. I came across your post looking for other unschooling/attachment parenting blogs. I hope you don’t mind that I’m faving this blog for more reads.
Since you know a lot about raw feeding, you probably already have seen this link: http://www.pet-grub.com/preface.pets. It’s basically got stuff like why, how, where, etc, and facts on how animals still have wilder tendencies like food preferences and such. I loved it.
Thanks Kay! and of course I don’t mind!!
I won’t say I know a lot about raw feeding but I am learning a bit more everyday… I am actually writing a bit of an update post on it at the moment..
Thanks so much for the link, I hadn’t seen that one yet!
She is so cute! Congratulations on the new family member.
I raw feed our 6 cats and am currently transitioning 2 new ones. It’s VERY cool that you’re starting your new one out raw right off the bat; makes it much easier and keeps them healthier. A couple of links that might be useful to you: http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm (has the recipe that I follow) and http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php. You may not want to hassle with the grinding, etc. (I do because my cats didn’t start raw until they were already adults so the transition was easier)but both websites have really good information. I also know that with just a little research you can find several sites that promote the whole prey feeding method and can tell you how to best accomplish it for your cat’s health, if you prefer to go that route!
Nala is lovely! Can’t wait to watch her grow!
She is so adorable! We are unable to have cats here due to my daughters allergies, but just love sweet little kittens!